Iran's leader wants closer ties with Egypt

CAIRO (AP) -- Iran's president says his country wants closer relations with Egypt.

After decades of distrust, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a news conference Thursday on the sidelines of an Islamic summit that Iran wants "comprehensive" and "unfettered" ties with Egypt.

The first Iranian leader to visit Egypt in three decades, Ahmadinejad has used his three-stay stay to try and cement ties with the most populous Arab nation.

He played down a public admonishment by Egypt's most prominent cleric, who warned Iran against spreading its Shiite faith in the predominantly Sunni Muslim Middle East.

Asked whether Iran was prepared to share its nuclear technology with Egypt, Ahmadinejad dodged the question, saying only that his country would have no problem cooperating with Egypt in "technical, technological and scientific" fields.